Five worst space disasters in history from Apollo 1 to Challenger explosion

dailystar.co.uk:

space disasters while trying to shed light on what’s out there. Here are five disasters you should know about.READ MORE: NASA sending 'female' mannequins to space for experiment instead of actual womenOn January 27, 1967 the US was preparing to deploy astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee on its first manned space mission.However, all three astronauts were killed after a fire broke out in their command module during a simulated launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.The fire was caused by a stray spark in the pure oxygen environment.

Design flaws also meant rescuers were unable to open the escape hatch in time to save the astronauts.The space race between the Soviet Union and the US in the late 1960’s meant that corners were often cut for the sake of getting ahead.

Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov’s life was unfortunately the cost of the Soviets rushing to get into the lead.He was the first person to actually die in space.

The Soyuz 1 mission, launched just three months after the Apollo 1 disaster, was supposed to take Vladimir Komarov to the moon, but instead his ship came crashing back down to Earth on April 24, 1967.The first problems with his shuttle were reported almost immediately after his launch, forcing the Soviets to abort the mission, but a faulty solar panel left the cosmonaut with no power.